A Guide to Mary Sues
by cb.spica
Summary: A basic guide to what Mary Sues are and how to avoid making one. Warning: Lots of sarcasm.
1. The Guide

Credits: My sister (who helped me write this) and TA Maxwell (who wrote a very nice Mary Sue guide that I used to help myself in writing this).

**Before you start reading this, two things to keep in mind:**

**Do not simply assume your OC is or isn't a Mary Sue before you start reading. Keep an open mind.**

**This guide is NOT a rulebook. No matter how Sue I think something is, that doesn't mean you absolutely should not do it under any circumstance. Also, some things are more minor than others. Just because your character has some Sue traits doesn't make her a Sue. A little flare doesn't hurt.**

Enjoy ^^

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**Cookie Krisp and Cursed Bunny's Mary Sue Guide****(Part 1.1)**

Note: Even though this guide is in the Hunter x Hunter category, it is a _general_guide.

This is by no means meant to be offensive or aimed at any specific author or character. It is also not 100% accurate. There are always circumstances outside a Mary Sue Guide. The purpose of this is not to be a statement of fact but merely something to help.

Definition of a Mary Sue: A clichéd being that is often too perfect and unrealistic. Because of this, they may cause other characters to go out of character.

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**Possible Traits of a Mary Sue ****and How to Fix Them:**

**1.** She is more powerful than any of the canon characters and is always stealing the spotlight from them. Elemental abilities have a particularly high tendency to cause this. Her abilities may allow her to do anything at all with few restrictions to compensate that. Keep in mind that making her only super strong at random intervals (ex. She doesn't know why, but all of a sudden, a bolt of electricity exploded from her hand and killed her enemy) also falls under this category. If her powers are going to be this sporadic, there had better be a good reason.

Fix: Give her weaknesses. Maybe she is super powerful against some enemies, but she may also be super weak against others (or even super weak if the enemy manages to exploit her one weakness).

**2.** She is the most beautiful thing the canon characters have ever seen and the author is constantly describing how beautiful she is. She is often described with "sapphire orbs" or "raven-colored" hair. She has wonderful curves that nobody can resist staring at. Even random people she passes on the street think she's gorgeous. And somehow, she is this beautiful without even trying. My good friends… I must inform you that beauty takes work to achieve. Have you ever seen a scar in real life? They are not beautiful, and they usually are not cool.

Fix: She can be the most gorgeous thing in the world, as long as you don't describe her as such. Feel free to say she looks pretty, but please keep to doing so at a minimum. Chances are the reader will not want to hear about how beautiful she is every single chapter. The reader probably got the idea the first time. Any more than that becomes redundant.

**3.** She is the definition of kindness, compassion, honesty, and sympathy. Do note that saying she is "too kind", "too compassionate", "too honest", and/or "too sympathetic" is not a flaw unless you truly make it one. Ex. She is "too kind" and therefore, is extremely gullible and a pushover. And if you've ever met someone like this, you should know that they are always bullied and can get quite annoying at times. Now that I think about it, she could become quite the Angsty Sue in this manner.

Fix: Does she really need to be all of these things? Surely you've met people in your life who are nice without having to be kind, compassionate, honest, and sympathetic. People do not have perfect personalities. Neither should your character. Give her some personality quirks. Not only do they make her more realistic, they can also make her more fun.

**4.**She exceeds the possibilities for a human (or any other being for that matter). If she is of multiple ethnicities (of which there should probably not be more than three), then the percentages of each ethnicity should at least add up to 1. It is not possible for anybody to be ¼ angel, 2/5 shinigami (Death God), ½ fox demon, 1/3 wolf demon, 1/8 fallen angel, 9/10 vampire, 4/13 werewolf, 1/16 fairy, 2/3 mermaid, 4/4 cat demon, 1/6 priestess, and 7/8 witch. First of all, if you have ever met someone who could be 2/5 something, I would think that would be extremely difficult, considering as it is not a multiple of two. Being ½ of something, ¼ of something, or 1/8 of something is plausible (although at this point your character probably part of several too many other species), but not 1/5 of something 1/11 of something or 1/13 of something. Not only that, but these fractions add up to 5.586858974 (so says my calculator). If you've ever met someone with 5.586858974 bodies, then please do feel free to contact me. If, perhaps, you are in disbelief that anyone would actually do this, feel free to check Quizilla.

Fix: Try to keep the number of ethnicities/species down to one through three. She does not need to be part of everything.

**5.**She bypasses the boundaries of the world. Ex1: She is able to use magic in a story where magic isn't real. Ex2: She is a supernatural being in a world where supernatural beings don't exist.

Fix: If nobody else has magic and nobody else is a supernatural being, why does she need to be so special? It is best to change her into someone who can actually exist in the world she lives in. Try to make her as normal as possible.

**6.** She causes other characters to become OOC. She makes the guy who is obsessed with another girl stare at her goo-goo eyed, and she makes the cold, uncaring guy call her "-chan".

Fix: As stated previously, other characters should not be swooning over your character. If you are writing a fanfiction, then you should try to keep all the characters in character. If they are constantly out of character, why bother writing a fanfiction?

**7.** Name: Whatever your OC's name is, it shouldn't be something that doesn't fit in the world. For example, I should not be reading about a Misako from France unless she is half Japanese or her parents like foreign names. In the case of the latter, if she has siblings, they should also have foreign names.

On that note, I also do not want to read about Alexandria May Raven Trinity who introduces herself, explains the meaning of her name and tells her life story while doing so, and says, "By the way, call me Alex."

Fix: Pick a name that makes sense in the setting and with your characters background. As for Alexandria May Raven Trinity, first of all, her name is way too long. Unless there is a specific (and quite good) reason for such a long name, it is unnecessary. Also, do you ever bother to go through all that trouble while introducing yourself? If the answer is no, then your character probably shouldn't be doing so either.

**8.**She has a terrible past. Perhaps nobody likes her! Her parents hate her, and so do all the other kids, even though she never did anything wrong. Nothing good has ever happened to her. Or maybe her parents were murdered when she was young, and she was left to fend for herself from that day on. Or maybe she has been abused, raped, kidnapped, tortured, targeted, or whatever else.

Fix: This is an easy way that an author draws pity for his/her character. It is also quite common. Most people also do not want to read an utterly depressing character, and there is a line at which people get annoyed and start to see it as whining. _**Furthermore, if the character does not correctly capture the circumstances, then you may alienate or infuriate readers who have actually been in the situation**__._ Be very careful what you write.

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**Types of Mary Sues**

Perfect Sue (God Sue): She is incredibly beautiful, incredibly strong, and incredibly smart. No one is anywhere near comparable to her, and she is practically invincible! She always wins, nobody gets mad at her, and everybody loves her for her kindness. Even animals.

Common traits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Mixed-Up Sue: She's quiet, but is always yelling. She says mean things, but everybody forgives her anyways. She's the most sympathetic person the other characters have ever met, but she couldn't care less about a sobbing villain asking for forgiveness. She just doesn't make any sense.

Common traits: 2, 3

Angsty Sue (Pity Beggar Sue): She has never been happy before, or, if she has, she lost everything. Her world is dark and black. She often seeks comfort with her love-interest.

Common traits: 2, 3, 6, 8

Naughty Sue (Badass Sue): She's a rebel! She hates society and does everything she can to show it! She dresses "Hot-Topic" or "emo" style and has scars. She acts mean, but underneath it all, she has her reasons.

Common traits: 2, 6, 7

Anti-Sue: The opposite of a Perfect Sue. She's got nothing good going for her. She's not pretty, she's weak, and she's not very smart either. She can't do anything right. She's got a ton of phobias, and she needs help doing everything.

Common traits: 6, 8

Canon Sue/Canon Stu: The only non-OC Sue/Stu. This is when the author causes a canon character to become a Super Sue/Stu! The canon character gradually transforms into a Sue/Stu through the eyes of the OC and is the OC's love interest. Since most OC's are girls, the Canon Sue/Stu is most commonly male.

Common traits: 1, 2

Copy Sue: An almost perfect copy of a canon character that is often her love interest. If he has black hair, then so does she. If he has purple eyes, she does too. They even have the same interests and personalities!

Common traits: 2, 7

Plot-stealing Sue: George caused the evil villain to regret his actions? No, that was actually Alexandria May Raven Trinity! Jessica eloped with George? No, that was actually Alexandria May Raven Trinity! Andrew stopped Jessica from making a stupid decision? No, that was actually Alexandria May Raven Trinity! She is always in the spotlight, even stealing other character's roles to do so!

Common traits: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7

Victim Sue: The damsel in distress. She's super wimpy, and her love interest must always come and save her!

Common traits: 2, 3, 6

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**Other ways to avoid creating a Mary Sue:**

Avoid giving your OC Mary Sue jewelry/accessories/gadgets/weapons: Keep whatever items she has something that fits within the world. Don't give her anything terribly extravagant that you can't describe in one or two sentences. It's okay to be cliché every once in awhile. Also, don't give her too many things. You don't want her to be a knife-throwing, sword-wielding, gun-firing, magical girl. Whatever you do, don't overdo it.

Do not give your OC a talking pet. This is overly clichéd.

Avoid Mary Sue abilities: Mind-reading, controlling another person, telekinesis, anything elemental, seeing/talking to ghosts, seeing the future, flying, floating, transformation, anything to do with time/space, anything overly powerful that upsets the balance of nature (Ex. Anything you wish becomes true).

*These are mostly clichés that could use some more originality or things that could cause her to become overpowered. Feel free to give your OC these abilities as long as they have substantial restrictions to amount for their overly powerful and vagueness (ex. If your power is air, you can just create a vacuum around a person you want dead so they can't breathe.)

It is a cliché to give your character a food obsession that causes them to eat extremely large amounts of food without explanation. This is okay though for the purpose of humor.

Avoid Mary Sue talents/hobbies: Singing, cooking, sleeping (and waking up without a bedhead), dancing, drawing/painting/any type of art, playing an instrument, fighting, etc.

*It is alright for your OC to have one or two of these talents. The problem starts when she has too many of them and begins to look like a walking cliché. I must advise that you should be particularly careful if your character has an amazing voice though because that is the most cliché on the list.

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I am not a Mary Sue hater, and there are stories with Mary Sue OC's that I do enjoy. I think I may have killed my own OC several times with this guide T-T. However, I feel that there is such a thing as too much Sue-ism. Everything is good in small quantities. Just make sure not to put too much.

…When I have time, I will try to create Part 2 of this guide, the Mary Sue test. For now, there are various Mary Sue tests on the internet… try taking those. I hope I helped~

Review with anything I might have failed to cover, comments, criticisms, questions, etc~


	2. The Guide 2

Acknowledgements: CookieKrisp (my sis), angelofdeath1119 (who named five Sue-ish things that I used in this section), -X-Takoyaki-X- (who mentioned something that I forgot to put in the first section), KiGaMi (who gave me a bunch of situations) and everyone who reviewed~ ^^

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**Cookie Krisp and Cursed Bunny's Mary Sue Guide****(Part 1.2)**

Alright, I know I said I would include the Mary Sue test in this part of the guide (Yes, I lied) , but I have some other things I want to say first.

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**Mary Sues are Mary Sues because they are unrealistic and because of the way people think of them. If everyone loves them, everybody keeps talking about their beauty/power/intelligence, and everybody instantly forgives them for whatever they might have done wrong, then they are most definitely a Mary Sue. In most cases, the few characters who have the nerve to insult Alexandria May Raven Trinity already are, or become, mean, terrible, horrible people. Keep that in mind as you read this section.**

I don't know about you, but when I read a story, there are several moments during which I automatically think, "Oh man, this character is a Mary Sue…"

**1.**One of them is if the character's beauty is described within the first few paragraphs of the first chapter. But even if it isn't so early within a story, certain descriptions automatically cause people to think "Mary Sue."

For example…

_As Alexandria May Raven Trinity__walked through the crowd, people couldn't help but stare__. Her __**sapphire **__blue __**orbs **__**dazzled **__when she smiled, and her __**raven **__black hair cascaded over her shoulders.__Natural streaks of red only accented the already beautiful sheen of her locks__. She could easily have been a model with her unblemished __**ivory **__skin and perfect curves._

Or maybe…

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity had never been sure if her__beauty was a blessing or a curse__. From the day of her birth, she had been__the victim of attempted kidnap 72 times, been stalked by 21 people, and asked out by 290__! Her __**striking **__eyes of __**emerald **__were second to no one's, and her voluminous platinum blonde hair tumbled down her back.__Even when she was crying she was still gorgeous__._

The bolded words all scream Sue-ness. I am not saying that you can't use them, but they tend to be associated with Sues. Just don't use too many all at once. The underlined portions are particularly Mary Sue-ish.

**2.**Another way to automatically make me think your character is a Mary Sue is to using an extremely clichéd situation. Even if your character is not a Sue, certain clichés can make her seem like one. Some clichés do so more than others.

Some examples of clichéd situations that create a lot of Sue-ness:

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity is in a hurry. She runs around the corner and bumps into Edward Cullen! Oh my god he's the most gorgeous man she's ever met! Edward Cullen helps her up,__ her heart races,__ and they meet again shortly thereafter.__ (And guess what: he fell in love with her at first sight.)_

Why it creates Sue-ness: Coincidence is a great thing but too much coincidence is no longer a coincidence. Furthermore, this is one of the first things that come to mind when people think of a romance story.

_When she was little, Alexandria May Raven Trinity met a boy. He was her best friend, and he was always there for her. But one day, he moved away. To this day, she still loves him. And guess what? He just transferred into her class at school._

Why it creates Sue-ness: Again, there is a lot of coincidence involved in this situation. Also, the "transfer student" probably deserves to be in the top 10 clichéd situations of all time.

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity wakes up late. Oh my god, Professor Oak will have already handed out all the good Pokémon! She screams at her alarm clock, eats waffles/pancakes/toast/bacon, and dashes out the door. (She may then proceed to bump into Edward Cullen)._

Why it creates Sue-ness: Although this situation is most commonly found in the Pokémon fandom (hence the example), it's not rare anywhere else either. This situation is simply too cliché.

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity was the girl who was never noticed. She sat in the back of the classroom by the window, always by herself. But that was before the most handsome guy in the school, Edward Cullen, came along and changed everything for her. Now, everybody knows her. __By the way, t__hey all love her too._

Why it creates Sue-ness: It's not realistic. If Edward Cullen is the most handsome guy in the school, people will not like her. Instead, they will be very jealous. However, they will _not_be so jealous that they are an angry mob. That's not realistic either.

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity is in a pinch! She's surrounded by a group of guys who all want to molest her because she's so beautiful! But Edward Cullen comes by and saves the day._

Why it creates Sue-ness: It's way too cliché.

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity was just going about her normal business when all of a sudden, something happened and she found out she was the Chosen One! It was her job to save the world!_

Why it creates Sue-ness: It starts out the story by putting Alexandria May Raven Trinity in the spotlight. At this point, she has often already stolen the spotlight (or is at least sharing it) with the original main character.

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity is super powerful! She can beat almost any enemy that the heroes are faced with__, and she can still fight after she's stabbed through the stomach__. But now she's sprained her ankle, so Edward Cullen has to carry her home._

Why it creates Sue-ness: That makes no sense and thus creates a plothole (although it's tolerable). She's so strong, but she's got such terrible pain tolerance that she can't stand to walk on a sprained ankle?

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity has a disease that prevents her from accomplishing her goals! Oh well, too bad! She's going to accomplish them anyways._

Why it creates Sue-ness: Although this situation is cliché, its cliché-ness is tolerable. The biggest problem with it is that most of the time the author of the story fails to correctly portray the effects of the disease, as well as the treatment the character must go through because of it.

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity has a terrible sense of direction. One day when she is lost, she meets Edward Cullen! Edward Cullen then leads her to her destination._

Why it creates Sue-ness: Random people on the street are not that helpful, making this situation unrealistic. And if they actually were, then Edward Cullen would probably not have been the first person to help her, in which case he wouldn't be special anymore. Yes, people will often give you directions, but they usually won't go out of their way to take you there.

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity is the princess of Planet Mary Sue. But she hates being a princess, so she changes her look, runs away from home, and pretends to be a commoner. On her journey, she meets Edward Cullen, and they fall in love._

Why it creates Sue-ness: Surely you have read about this situation at least once before. AT LEAST. Furthermore, it is unrealistic that people wouldn't recognize her just because she cut her hair and changed her clothes. You still recognize your friends after they get a haircut don't you? So the people of Planet Mary Sue will still recognize Alexandria May Raven Trinity too.

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity always wears a cloak to prevent her real identity from being discovered! Maybe that's why nobody discovered she was the princess of Planet Mary Sue. But in any case, she has continued her journey and traveled to Planet Gary Stu! One night, she decides to take off her cloak and dance. Her hair and dress billow in the wind, and Edward Cullen, in all his stalkerness, is watching her from the bushes. She doesn't realize he's there, but he is only thinking about how gorgeous she is._

Why it creates Sue-ness: It's too cliché, and many of the things necessary to make this scene are also Mary Sue-ish. Particularly the cloak, the dancing, and the beauty.

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity is alone on the roof singing. Edward Cullen, hearing her beautiful voice, runs around searching for her. He is convinced that the owner of this angelic voice is the girl of his dreams._

Why it creates Sue-ness: Is her voice really that loud that Edward Cullen can hear it from wherever he is(which usually isn't that close)? Not only that, but singing is a Mary Sue trait.

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity is going to hang out with her old friend, Bob the Builder. They're only going to hang out for one day, but Edward Cullen and the rest of the crew are so terribly jealous that they must stalk poor__Alexandria May Raven Trinity and Bob the Builder._

Why it creates Sue-ness: Oh my god, isn't that being just a TINY BIT overprotective? Just a tiny bit? If I were Alexandria May Raven Trinity, I would be totally creeped out...

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity is part of a love triangle! Yesterday, she met Edward Cullen at the school dance, and today she met Romeo Montague! Now, Edward Cullen and Romeo Montague can do nothing but fight because they both love__Alexandria May Raven Trinity even though they've known her for less than 24 hours!_

Why it creates Sue-ness: Edward Cullen and Romeo Montague seem to be terribly shallow in this situation, especially since in most cases, they have fallen for her because she is just so gorgeous.

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity is kissed by Romeo Montague because Romeo wanted her to stop teasing him about what Edward Cullen said! She a) is terribly surprised and doesn't know what to do__, __b) slaps Romeo__, c) starts crying and runs away, d) any combination of the three previous choices_

Why it creates Sue-ness: Normally, you would think Alexandria May Raven Trinity's reflexes would be fast enough to stop Romeo Montague (especially since she is most likely also a powerful warrior). But no, of course not. She can catch any punch, but she can't stop a kiss. Well, I suppose the biggest problem with this situation is more that it's incredibly cliché though.

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity accidentally gets a hold of some alcohol! Naturally, she didn't know it was alcohol (or she wouldn't have drank it) because otherwise she might actually have a flaw! But because she's never drank alcohol before, she has no tolerance. She then proceeds to faint in the arms of Edward Cullen__, who is then tempted to kiss her__._

Why it creates Sue-ness: It's awfully convenient that she manages to fall into his arms isn't it? I mean, she could just as easily fallen face first off a cliff.

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity doesn't want her identity to be discovered (Probably because she is the princess of Planet Mary Sue)! Since cutting her hair and changing her clothes isn't a good enough disguise, she decides that she should also dress as a guy. Surely people won't recognize her now._

Why it creates Sue-ness: Bandages cannot completely hide breasts (unless they are quite small, which usually isn't the case because Alexandria May Raven Trinity usually has a gigantic chest). Her voice will also be too high (unless she is small enough to pretend to be a little boy). Her speech patterns and natural behavior will also be different because she is a girl. Basically, her disguise should be easily seen through, and it is also very cliché.

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity is fighting when her gender is revealed to Edward Cullen and Romeo Montague! What will they think of her now?_

Why it creates Sue-ness: Edward Cullen and Romeo Montague have probably already fallen for Alexandria May Raven Trinity before they knew she was a girl. As such, they're both bisexual and really wouldn't care less what her gender was.

_Alexandria May Raven Trinity is fighting when her super long impractical hair gets cut! Well, she needed a new look anyways._

Why this creates Sue-ness: It's just way too cliché, and it usually only happens because the author was tired of her current appearance.

**Although I am stating that these are very commonly used situations, I am not saying you can't put them in your story. Just don't use them too often, and you should be fine.**

**3.**Mary Sue Outfits: An OC should be dressed in some practicality for their world. It wouldn't make any sense if Alexandria May Raven Trinity was on a ninja mission while wearing a frilly pink dress. It would just get in her way. This also applies to most other trendy outfits. Unless your character is known for his/her impracticality, then he/she probably will not be dressing like this. Furthermore, excessive description of clothing may also seem Mary Sue. Unless Alexandria May Raven Trinity's clothes are important to the storyline, they don't need to be described in enormous amounts of detail.

**4.** If your OC is able to pick up skills faster than is normally possible, it is a warning sign that your character may be a Mary Sue. Yes, okay, maybe Alexandria May Raven Trinity is talented in drawing. Her skills are exceptional. Alright, that's fine. However, she should not also be equally outstanding in writing, singing, cooking, fighting, magic, math, science, history, sports, and whatever else. People are not instantly able to learn how to do things. It takes time. The same principle applies to beauty and love. Celebrities are not instantly gorgeous. They work hard to be what they are. As for love, sure, some people may believe in "love at first sight", but in most cases, love is developed over a long period of time. If people are falling in love at first sight with your OC, then there is a very high chance that she is a) Mary Sue or b) secretly a succubus. I seriously doubt though that she is a succubus.

**5.**From time to time, an OC may come along and cause the author to bash a certain canon character. This is quite frequent among Mary Sues whose love interest is already popular among the girls.

Example: In the original story, Katie was a kind and caring girl, even though she had a huge crush on Edward Cullen. But then, Alexandria May Raven Trinity came along! Now, Katie is a mean, terrible bitch and is doing nothing but trying to sabotage Alexandria May Raven Trinity!

**6.** Over the course of the story, everything works just the way Alexandria May Raven Trinity wants it to! She never loses a battle, she can figure out all the mysteries, and she gets the man of her dreams. Of course, her story will, on the rare occasion, end tragically, and she will die. In such a case, she will be greatly mourned for by the rest of the characters and often become a legend.

**7.** Even when Alexandria May Raven Trinity is not present and has no importance at all, she must be mentioned at some point during the scene because her beauty, perfection, or depression is all people ever have on the brain.

**8.** The OC is blaming him/herself for things that are clearly not her fault and that he/she had no control over the outcome of. Usually, this is a feeble excuse for making the OC do something "wrong". This is caused by the author being extremely reluctant to let Alexandria May Raven Trinity do anything bad.

Example: If only Alexandria May Raven Trinity had never been born… She didn't know what to do. If she hadn't been there, then maybe Jessica wouldn't have been injured so badly…

**9.** As mentioned in the previous section, names are a big issue. The name doesn't have to be as long and annoying as Alexandria May Raven Trinity to have the same effect. If it is in any way the person's ID/pen name, then the name tends to automatically leave a Mary Sue impression unless it's "Jane Doe".

Examples: Destiny, Sephiria, Safira/Saphira, Ruby, Desiree, Serena, Rose/Roze, Rosalina/Rozalina, Hikari, Sakura, Neko, Ookami, Tori, Alexis, Midnight, Shadow, Savanna, Cynthia, Trinity, Sky/Skye, Azure, Snow, Arabella, Evangeline, Clarity, Estella, Sora, Luna, Taryn, Yoko, Celina/Selina/Serina, Xylia, Azura, Victoria, Mina, Nikki, Jennifer, Jenny, Aurora, Angelica, Angelina, Harmony, Jasmine, Ava, Lorelei, Haruka, Kari, Ziri, Kairi/Kyrie, Ivory, Riley, Amy, Tide/Tyde, Hetalia, Miranda/Myranda, Twilight, Heart, Zeke, Sugar, Alice, Nezumi, Neru, Kaze, anything elemental based (Ex. Raine/Rain/Rayne, Yuki, Snow, Cloud/Cloude, Aqua, Storm/Storme), anything named after the character's powers, anything overused, anything that means pretty/beautiful, anything that IS pretty/beautiful (Crystal/Krystal, Sparkle, Star, Hoshi, etc) [and is commonly associated with that. Ex. Any gems (Sapphire, Emerald/Emeralde, etc)], almost anything that was once a normal name but is now spelled fancifully (Ex. Jayde instead of Jade, Alyx instead of Alex ), anything that was another author's original name (Ex. Arwen, Azmaria, etc), Angel, Robin, Elizabeth any name that is associated with a particularly famous celebrity, any name that is associated with a particularly famous anime/movie/book (Ex. Names from Naruto or Twilight), any name that has been converted from another language (like English) to Romaji, any random conglomeration of Japanese syllables or English letters that isn't a real name (unless that is acceptable in the world of your story because the original author has created many characters with such names), any name with a pronunciation that must be explained to the reader (Ex. Linnae is pronounced Li-nay), anything seasonal (Ex. Autumn, Winter), anything monthly (April, October, November, etc), any color (Rouge, Amber, Blue, etc), a combination of names from two different languages (Ex. Kyouko Smith).

… That was certainly a long list. Some of the names on the list because they simply tend to belong to Mary Sues, some because they are just ridiculous names to begin with, some because they aren't real names, and others because they are overused.

**That**** does****not****mean that they are absolutely forbidden to be used. Feel free to use them, but you probably shouldn't put more than one in the same name. Certain names, while they may sound cool to you, may be a bit overdone (Ex. Emeralde Clarity, Star Hope, Alexandria May Raven Trinity).**

Now those are some signs that the readers look for.

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**What about the author? What should the author look for in his/her OC that will signal Mary Sue-ness?**

In many cases, the Mary Sue is everything the author wishes he/she could be… beautiful, strong, and smart. The author admires Alexandria May Raven Trinity, and therefore assumes that so will everyone else. The problem here though is that the readers look for a character they can relate to. **The readers will find themselves unable to relate to such a perfect character.**That is one of the main reasons why Mary Sues tend to be disliked.

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**On a side note that is completely off topic and has nothing to do with Mary Sues:**

I often find myself irritated when reading incorrect dialogue format in a story. **Dialogue should **_**always **_**have double quotes. **For those of you who are struggling with dialogue format, here is the proper format:

**When the punctuation at the end of the quotation would normally be a period and the speaker is given after the quote, it becomes a comma.**

Example: "Jack ate apples," a little girl said.

**When the speaker is not given after the quote, the punctuation remains a period.**

Example 1: "Jack ate apples."

Example 2: The little girl said, "Jack ate apples."

**When the punctuation is anything else, it also remains the same.**

Example: "Does Jack like apples?" the little girl asked.

**Even when the quotation does not start the sentence, the first letter in the quotation is, in most cases, capitalized. There is also a comma before the quotation begins.**

Example: The little girl shouted, "Apples are tasty!"

**However, if there are two quotes in the same sentence, then the second quote doesn't need to have its first letter capitalized.**

Example: "I really like apples," the girl said thoughtfully, "...but peaches are actually my favorites!"

**When the speaker is given at the end of the statement, it should be treated as part of the same sentence as the quote.**

Example: "Apples are red. Bananas are yellow. And I don't like bananas," the little girl said.

"the" was not capitalized because it was not the start of a new sentence.

**When there is a new speaker, there should be a new paragraph.**

Example:

"What about you Jack? Do you like bananas?" the little girl asked.

"No," Jack replied.

**This is why you need commas:**

"Let's eat Grandpa!"

"Let's eat, Grandpa!"

Wow, you just saved someone's life with grammar. (My sis found that on someone's profile).

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The next part of this guide should include the character profile and the test. (Unless I come across a huge amount of things that I didn't yet cover about Mary Sues in the first two parts)

Why a character profile, you ask?

Because it should help the author get to know their character better, realize how Mary Sue his/her character is/isn't, and it may help with the test.

Anyways, do review with questions, comments, criticisms, etc~ xD

Thanks for reading =3


	3. A Profile and a Test

Acknowledgements: Cookie Krisp (my sister), KiGaMi (who tried the test out for me), the Mary Sue Litmus Test (Google it).

To SoMeOnE: It depends on the situation. I'm really not 100% what you're asking, but I'll try to answer you anyways. If, by some strange situation, everyone in the story already has those exact same weapons and powers, then no, it's not Mary Sue (ex. everyone on Planet Normality uses a spear with water powers). If the character's weapons and powers are copies of another character's, then it is Mary Sue (ex. Alexandria May Raven Trinity uses a book that steals other people's abilities, just like Kuroro's). And if I still haven't answered your question, then just know that it depends on the strength of those weapons and powers in comparison to the strength of everyone else in the fandom. Even if the character's strength is greater than everyone else's, then he/she is a Mary Sue.

To Anonymous: I made a few changes to the part that you mentioned. I think you made a good point.

A note to anonymous reviewers: I don't mind answering your questions. However, it is rather difficult for me to do so because I cannot reply to your review. If you have an account, please log in. If you don't have an account, I will probably reply to you in the author's notes of this section. Thanks.

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**Cookie Krisp and Cursed Bunny's Mary Sue Guide (Part 2)**

Okay, before I even start the Mary Sue Test, you should get to know your character. Here's a profile for you to fill out. This is mostly a profile that I created for myself, but I did borrow some things from other profiles. All proper credits to them. If you aren't going to actually bother answering everything on it, then at least have some idea of what most of the answers are (I'll admit that I'm too lazy to fill this whole thing out most of the time). It is essential to know your character's personality when writing your story.

Name:

Age:

Birthday:

Description:

On a scale from one to ten… (If you add them up, their total should not be greater than 20)

-Beauty:

-Intelligence:

-Fighting ability:

Likes:

Dislikes:

Good at:

Bad at:

Hobbies:

Habits (both good and bad):

Quotes (this helps you get to know how your character speaks):

Past:

Family:

Hometown:

Best friend:

Other friends:

Enemies and why:

Sees self as:

Is seen by others as:

Dominant character trait:

Secondary character trait:

Other personality traits:

Acts when happy:

Acts when sad:

Acts when embarrassed:

Acts when mad:

Acts when relieved:

Acts when frustrated:

Acts when annoyed:

Acts when normal:

Acts when scared:

Acts when safe:

Acts when in danger / threatened:

Acts in a bad situation:

Acts in a dire situation:

Acts when he/she thinks he/she might die:

Acts in battle:

Acts when a friend is in danger:

Acts after losing a battle:

Acts when a friend is upset:

Acts when scolded:

Acts when his/her friends are fighting:

Acts when insulted about him/herself:

Acts when friends are insulted:

Acts around people he/she knows:

Acts around people he/she doesn't:

After he/she's succeeded in something:

After he/she's failed at something:

When offered something (always/sometimes/never) accepts it:

When talking… (rude / polite)

Lets people know when he/she's sad… (Yes/No). Why/why not?

If he/she's provoked by someone:

He/she is… (sympathetic and caring / stoic and icy)

Does he/she get scared easily?

Does he/she like to tease tease?

Does he/she get jealous easily?

Greets people by:

Morals:

Things he/she thinks are important:

Confident / Insecure / Shy:

Sorry, I realize it's kind of lengthy. If you can answer them all, then, with any luck, your character isn't a Mixed-Up Sue. It never hurts to look over your answers though and make sure they aren't contradictory. Now hopefully you know your character a little better. Onto the test then~

* * *

**The Test**

This is based off of the Mary Sue Litmus Test, which can be found easily on Google. It's quite useful, and I would highly suggest checking it out. Furthermore, it has nice little checkboxes, so you don't need a calculator.

Directions: **Answer all questions honestly. If you are not sure of an answer, it is better to just answer, "Yes" or "True". If you think the answer is, "Well… sort of," then assume the statement is true. If you are going to be in denial when taking this test, you might as well have not taken it at all.**

Go get a calculator and add up the points as you go.

**Name**

Is your character named after you in any way? (This includes pen names, usernames, first name, last name, middle name, nicknames, etc) (+20)

A/N: This mostly applies to pen names because people tend to automatically assume that if your character's name is the same as your pen name, then your character is probably a Sue.

Is your character's name an unusual spelling of a more common word/name? (+1)

Is your character's name a noun or adjective that is not normally used as name? (+1)

Does your character have a nickname or pseudonym? (+1)

**Appearance**

Did your character score a 7 or higher on beauty in the profile above? (+2)

He/she works hard on his/her appearance. (-1)

Other characters/ the narrator/ the author often describe him/her as beautiful? (+4)

Was it in the first paragraph of your story? (+3)

Was it on the first page of your story? (+2)

The first thing other characters notice about the character is his/her beauty/sexiness/handsomeness. (+2)

Other characters feel jealous of the characters beauty. (+1)

The character regularly describes himself/herself as beautiful/handsome. (-3)

The character dresses impractically for the world (ex. Alexandria May Raven Trinity is taking the Hunter Exam wearing a mini skirt). (+2)

Do you find this manner of dressing to be particularly sexy/cool/pretty? (+1)

The character has multiple hair colors (ex. Alexandria May Raven Trinity has blue hair with orange highlights or hair that changes color depending on her emotional state). (+2)

The character has a hair/eye/skin color that cannot be described in just two words. (+1)

The character has a scar, birthmark, tattoo, or other marking that makes him/her more beautiful/cool. (+1)

If it's a tattoo, it's the Phantom Troupe's symbol. (+1)

The character has a scar or other marking that makes him/her ugly. (-3)

The character is overweight for the majority of the story. (-10)

The character is described as "skinny enough to be anorexic but isn't", or something along those lines. (+1)

The character has a huge weapon but nowhere to keep it. It tends to randomly appear out of nowhere. (Ignore this if it is materialized). (+1)

The character weapon is a strange piece of jewelry. (+2)

It's a pendant. (+1)

The character has wings, mermaid fins, animal ears, an animal tail, or anything of the sort. (+5)

The character is so gorgeous that canon characters are automatically attracted to him/her? (+3)

Even if the canon characters already have a love interest. (+1)

The character appears younger than he/she is. (+1)

The character is ugly, and remains ugly, throughout the entire story. (-15)

**Character**

The character is family of a canon character. (+1)

He/she is part of the Kuruta clan. (+2)

He/she is the sibling of Gon, Killua, Leorio, any of the Spiders, etc. (+1)

He/she is the child of one or more of the canon characters. (+2)

The character is the child of two already established and well-known hunters. (+1)

They're triple-stars. (+2)

He/she inherited one or more of their talents. (+2)

The character is any kind of royalty. (+3)

The character scored a 7 or higher on intelligence on the profile above. (+1)

The character scored a 7 or higher in fighting ability on the profile above. (+2)

The character likes to kill people, and it doesn't matter to him/her whether they are or are not innocent. (-2)

The character always tries to save everyone (even the bad guys). (+2)

The character really couldn't care less what the right thing is and always does what is most beneficial to him/her. (-3)

The character is in a parallel circumstance to one of the canon characters (ex. Alexandria May Raven Trinity's tribe was killed by the Spiders but she wasn't a Kuruta). (+2)

The character was banished from his/her home. (+1)

The character has amnesia. (+2)

If, for some strange reason, he/she doesn't remember any of his/her lost memories. (-2)

The character has an angsty childhood/past. (+2)

He/she was sexually abused/raped. (+5)

Multiple times. (+15)

He/she was abused/tortured by parents. (+3)

He/she grew up in poverty. (+1)

He/she was the only survivor of a disaster/massacre. (+3)

His/her parents died while the character was still young. (+1)

He/she was born/forced into slavery or thieving. (+2)

He/she had some sort of disease/illness that prevented him/her from doing what he/she wanted but now, for whatever reason the author may choose, he/she is now able to overcome that disease/illness (+2)

He/she is always held back by the disease/illness (-3)

The character feels incredible guilt over a past event. (+1)

He/she caused it to happen. (-2)

He/she believes it was his/her fault, despite the fact the situation was out of his/her hands. (+3)

The character considers his/her beauty/talent/skill/etc to be a curse. (+3)

It actually does get in his/her way and causes him/her lots of problems. (-4)

The character has a faithful pet. (+1)

It talks. (+2)

It has special powers. (+3)

The character learns difficult skills in short amounts of time. (+3)

The character is a beautiful singer/wonderful cook. (+3)

The character has a physical limitation that fails to ever get in his/her way. (+5)

The character is always weak throughout the entire story and therefore holds back the other characters. (-10)

The character has a physical or mental limitation that always hinders him/her throughout the entire story. (-4)

The character has flaws that never seem to get in his/her way. (+3)

The character has flaws that continually get in his/her way. (-3)

The character has any of the following abilities:

Teleportation (+1)

Telepathy/Mind-reading (+2)

Telekinesis (+2)

Anything elemental (+3 for each element [ex. Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Lightning, etc])

Prophecy (+3)

Healing (+3)

Animal communication (+1)

Empathy (+1)

Shapeshifting/Transformation (+1)

Invisibility (+2)

Invulnerability (+4)

Flight (+3)

The ability to pass through matter (+2)

Manipulation of another person (+2)

Seeing/talking/manipulating ghosts/the dead (+3)

Anything to do with time/space/dimensions (+4)

Stealing other people's abilities. (+8)

The same ability as a canon character (+8)

Anything overly powerful that upsets the balance of nature (ex. Anything you wish becomes true). (+10)

The character has more than one ability (ex. Alexandria May Raven Trinity can both summon bombs and manipulate puppets). (+5)

The character's nen type is specialization. (+1)

The character's ability could actually fit under another category. (+2)

The character has a nen type that does not match his/her personality (You can look up nen abilities online. If you want to know some places to look, just ask me). (+2)

The character's nen type is reinforcement. (-2)

The character has no restrictions on his/her abilities. (+3)

The character has three or more restrictions on his/her abilities. (-2)

These restrictions are significant (ex. If Kurapica disobeys his pledge, he will die). (-3)

The character is a supernatural being (ex. An angel, vampire, elf, shinigami, etc). (+5)

He/she is from 2 or more different supernatural species (ex. ¼ Angel, ¼ Fox demon, ½ Vampire) (+2)

He/she is from 4 or more different supernatural species (+4)

The character is has a stronger sense of smell than Gon. (+1)

The character is a better assassin than the Killua/comes from an even more famous clan of assassins than Killua. (+2)

Animals like your character just as much or more than they like Gon. (+1)

The character is smarter than Kurapica/Shalnark. (+1)

The character is a better doctor than Leorio. (+1)

The character is even more genius at nen than Gon and Killua. (+3)

The character is better at cooking than Menchi. (+2)

The character has no mouth like Satotsu. (Lol?) (-10)

The character is physically stronger than Ubou. (+2)

**Plot**

The character is automatically accepted by Gon, Killua, Kurapica, and Leorio as part of their group. (+2)

The character is a member of the Spiders. (+2)

The character is a chimera ant. (-1)

But still has a human appearance. (+4)

The character has already met Ging at some point in his/her life. (+2)

The character, a normal resident from Planet Earth, is magically ended up in the Hunter x Hunter world. (+3)

Because of that, he/she already knows what will happen. (+2)

The character knew nen already during the Hunter Exam. (+2)

The character falls in love with Milluki, Bonolenov, or Maha. (-10)

The character is super strong (and probably knows nen) but Hisoka seems completely oblivious to her during the Hunter Exam. (+2)

At least one canon character has already started to have romantic thoughts about the character by the end of the 2nd Exam. (+3)

They've kissed. (+5)

A/N: You know, at that point, they've probably known each other for less than 24 hours… please be realistic.

The character and his/her love interest have kissed by the end of the Hunter Exam. (+2)

The character is oblivious to the feelings all of those who are in love with him/her. (+2)

The character becomes a boy/girlfriend of a canon character. (+1)

Do all the major characters like him/her? (+3)

One or more of the major characters dislikes him/her. (-2)

The character causes other characters go become OOC. (+3)

It is because the character is so beautiful. (+3)

The character often saves the day. (+2)

In doing so, he/she has stolen the spotlight from the canon character that originally saved the day in the actual story. (+2)

The character rarely makes mistakes. (+3)

When he/she does make a mistake, he/she is easily forgiven (ex. Gon makes a naïve decision, causing everyone else to suffer the consequences. Everyone apologizes and all is well). (+2)

The character dies at some point of your story. (+2)

The character dies to save his/her love interest. (+3)

The character is greatly mourned by all the other characters, including the bad guys. (+3)

The character becomes a legend because of his/her noble death. (+5)

The character comes back to life. (+10)

The character dies and comes back to life more than once. (+15 for each time he/she does so.)

**You and Your Character**

You and the character share more than three hobbies. (+1)

The character is everything you want to be. (+5)

You stubbornly insist that your character is not a Mary Sue and get angry whenever someone points out otherwise. (+2)

If you could meet your character, you would want to be friends with him/her. (+2)

You sometimes pretend to be your character. (+1)

You and the character share a lot in common (both in personalities and hobbies). (+3)

* * *

**Results**

**Zero and below**: The Anti-Sue. This is no better than a Mary Sue, and your character could probably use a little bit of spicing up. Anti-Sues are pretty much useless, and so they just annoy the reader. Or maybe you were just lying when you answered the questions. That is, unless your character scored this because he/she had no mouth (or fell in love with Milluki, Bonolenov, or Maha).

**01 - 15:** The Non-Sue. Your character is doing quite well. He/she does not have too much or too little Sue-ness, so he/she is well-developed. This is the best category to be in because it represents the happy medium.

**16 - 30**: The Borderline Sue. Be careful because Mary Sue Land is right in front of you. Some people may think your character is a Mary Sue and others may not. Fine tune the details a little bit, and your character should be just fine.

**31 - 45**: The Mary Sue. Do some major polishing to fix your character. At this point, he/she may still be salvageable.

**46 + **: The Super Sue. Chances are she is incorrigible. You probably want to scrap him/her and start over.

* * *

As stated previous, there are circumstances outside of this guide. Therefore, this should not be your rulebook. In math, you would probably call it an approximation. But I'm pretty sure that all of you have decided calculating your score was enough math for the day, so I'll stop talking math.

Also, please don't take whatever score you got personally. I am not trying to insult you or your character. I might not have even read your story. However, if your readers often tell you (or even hint) that your character is Mary Sue-ish, you should probably take their opinion into consideration.

**Something to keep in mind: Characters are like cake. They aren't good with too little sugar (Anti-Sues), but they can be sickeningly sweet with too much sugar (Mary Sues). What you want to do is find a happy medium somewhere in between. A little bit of Sue-ness won't hurt your character.**

**In other words: Just because I stated that something is Mary Sue-ish in this guide, it doesn't mean that it should be avoided like poison.**

PS: I've checked the scoring of this test over with several characters, but I'm still not 100% sure of its accuracy. Feel free to tell me if you think point values should be higher or lower and whatever else, but also try to explain why. I'm also open to things that I have failed to include. Review with questions, comments, etc~ =3


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